Day 2 started out very leisurely. We woke up and puttered around, had a little desayuno and then I went down to the pool to get a little swim in before we headed for island time. Or at least that was the plan. Plan thwarted. I know this will sound utterly ridiculous given that Panama is only 9 degrees from the equator but that pool water was frigid. I really am a Gulf girl at heart. Give me 70 degree water or give me death, I say! Ok, well maybe not death. Needless to say, my swim was short and I had to lay out for about 10 minutes on either end to warm up. Pool, while not a fail was definitely a C, although not for lack of effort. It was quite beautiful. Ok ON with the adventures. We had plans to go out to the Amador Causeway for lunch and then catch a ferry to Isla Taboga for the night, for a little beach and sun. Once we got showered and packed we headed downstairs to ask Luis the gate guard to call us a taxi. 10 minutes later Fidel pulled up and we were off. While I wanted to practice my Spanish, Fidel wanted to practice his English (I will say it did take the pressure off), so we let him. And we happily jabbered the 15 minutes to our destination. Once we found the ferry booth, we made our way to Mi Ranchito for lunch on the water. It was a beautiful view with a lovely wait staff and delicious food. Since it was so hot, of course we had to cool off with some Panamanian cervezas! So yummy!
I had determined to eat my weight in Ceviche (much like my friend Sarah did with guacamole in Mexico) and Mi Ranchito began the task. It was so good! Fresh chunks of Corvina (that had probably had breakfast or at least a midnight snack in the ocean) were marinated in fresh lime juice with onions and a little kick of pepper. Mmmmmm I even gave up on the crackers and just used my fork from that point on. Who needs the extras when it's that good? Our entrees included whole fried Corvina for Papa Gar, Langostinas for Mom and garlic Corvina for me with some yucca fries on the side. It was the perfect start to the Island getaway day.
Off to the ferry we went. It was a slow boat to China, err I mean Isla Taboga but we just enjoyed the view as we headed out threading our way through the multitude of waiting ships, while Panama City grew smaller and smaller. No easy feat considering the height of some of those buildings. {Side note: Electricity seems to be very expensive in Panama because even with all the amazing skyscrapers, they are rarely lit up like they are in NYC. It was so strange to fly in over the city and be able to see only silhouettes of the buildings and yet very few lights.} We pulled into the quaint little harbor about an hour later and made our way to our little bed and breakfast called Cerrito Tropical. It was late in the day when we got there so the first night consisted of white wine and ceviche (I told you) on the balcony overlooking the island and then dinner downstairs. Well played.
This is actually the Island at night not Panama City, FYI.
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